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OTTAWA-GATINEAU, Feb. 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced a
three-month trial that will allow 911 call centres to communicate with
pre-registered participants with hearing and speech impairments by text
message.

"This text messaging trial is one of several initiatives that the CRTC
is exploring to improve the accessibility of communications services
for the hearing and speech impaired," said Leonard Katz, the CRTC's
Acting Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications. "This trial
will give us the technical and operational information we need before
making a final decision on whether to expand the program nationwide."

The trial will involve participants in Vancouver, Toronto, Peel Region
and Montreal, and is expected to begin shortly. During the trial,
pre-registered participants will make test 911 calls. The 911 call
centres, participating in the trial, will be notified at the start of
the test calls that the caller has registered for the trial and will
thus respond by text message. Information from this trial will be used
to prepare a report regarding the feasibility of rolling out such a
program on a national basis.

In 2009, following its accessibility decision, the CRTC asked a group of
public safety representatives, telecommunications companies and the
hearing and speech impaired community to develop solutions to improve
911 access for persons with hearing or speech impairments. The trial
is a result of their collaboration.